As the Rio Games came to a close yesterday, athletes are making their way home, and the lucky ones have some precious cargo with them—Olympic medals. Among those, the Chinese women's volleyball team, who left Brazil, with their gold medals in hand. Lang Ping's side earned them after beating Serbia in the final to win the Olympic title, and the squad was given a nice send off by Chinese fans at the airport.
Fans took out their cell phones to take a photo of their new heroes. Several members of the squad then took to time to sign autographs for their adoring public.
China started off the volleyball campaign with a lackluster effort in the group stage, but improved in the knockout stage, beating two-time champ and host Brazil, then beat the Netherlands in the semis, before seeing off Serbia in the final. The victory has turned the team into national heroes.